Tony Garea sticks his neck out for Jesse “The Body”

So my boss at work mentioned that he recently checked out an episode of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. After a few minutes, he became unimpressed with Ventura’s strange choice of people to interview.

” ‘The Body’s’ Conspiracy Theory show had about as much credibility as he did when he beat Tony Garea in 1985,” my boss wrote to me by email.

Wow. That single line sent me back in time, because while a teen, I can vividly recall watching Ventura and Garea fight on Prime Time Wrestling in June 1985.

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4 comments

We think that stupid finishes are the province of modern wrestling. One of the worst involved Garea. He and Calhoun lost the tag titles in 1973 when Fuji and Tanaka choked Calhoun with his horseshoe. The big man was ruled unable to continue … completely ignoring the “rule” that a title can change hands only on a pinfall or submission.

Reading about the horseshoe made me laugh out loud today. I never knew the particulars about that tag title switch. A horseshoe seems like a gimmick that is long overdue for a return. Maybe instead of a sledgehammer, Triple H could pull a horseshoe from the under ring next time.

Tony Garea will be remembered best for the stints he had as the WWWF tag-team champion with Haystacks Calhoun, Dean Ho and a young Larry Zbyszko. The climax of his first title win was a TV taping where 601 lbs of Haystacks put the big-splash on Fuji & Tanaka, pinning them, while Tony Garea leapt atop of Haystacks back and outstretched his arms making a peace symbol to the crowd. The crowd at the Philadelphia Arena went electric upon the announcement of “the NEW World Wide Wrestling Federation tag-team champions…” This was a by-gone era when holding the belt really meant something important in the eyes of fans.

You are so right about the value of belts. I think of what has happened to the Intercontinental Title these days, and it’s kind of sad when you think of the major stars who once held that belt. Over the summer, there were hints of the WWE Title being important during the CM Punk angle, but that feeling flamed out. I remember how exciting it was to see the tag titles change on TV way back when.